Tokyo (AFP) – Olympic champion Julien Alfred cruised through the women’s 100 metres heats with the fastest time at the world athletics championships on Saturday, with in-form American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden qualifying third quickest. Alfred is looking to bag another global title for Saint Lucia after winning the tiny Caribbean island’s first Olympic gold in Paris last year. She cantered home in a time of 10.93sec in Tokyo, where occasional showers burst through the humid evening air. Britain’s Daryll Neita was second-fastest in 10.94sec, followed by Jefferson-Wooden in 10.99sec.
Retiring veteran Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica also made it safely through. And defending champion Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States — who has had a low-key season so far marked by a domestic incident with her boyfriend, US sprinter Christian Coleman — moved into the semi-finals. Jefferson-Wooden comes into the championships in red-hot form after becoming the first woman since 2003 to win the 100m-200m double at the US trials. She has a personal best of 10.65sec, making her the joint fifth-fastest woman in history, and the world-leading time this year.
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“I’ve been here for about a week so I’m just trying to stay focused, live in the moment and not anticipate too much of being here at the world championships,” said the 24-year-old. “I know I’m ready to run, I know I’m in great shape, it’s just about taking one day, one practice, one meet at a time.” Jefferson-Wooden said she was not happy with her start but she “accelerated and transitioned very well.” “Once I felt myself clear, I just shut it down and kept moving on,” she said.
Fraser-Pryce went through with a time of 11.09sec. The 38-year-old will finally hang her spikes up after Tokyo, having spent an incredible 17 years as a dominant force in women’s sprinting. She is a five-time world champion over 100m, and at the last worlds in Budapest in 2023 claimed bronze. Neita missed out on an Olympic medal after finishing fourth in the Paris final. She said her season had been “an absolute rollercoaster” that had tested her mentally.
“This season was all about the emotional side of things,” said the 29-year-old. “It’s easy to be in the gym and get muscles there and on the track, but it is hard to get muscles in the head.” Jamaica’s Tina Clayton qualified fourth fastest in 11.01sec, followed by Richardson in 11.03sec and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in 11.04sec. “This is the first time for me competing on a stage this big,” said 21-year-old Clayton. “I have done it at the under-20 world championship but now it’s time to show off on the senior stage.”
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